Drawing of the Interior of the Library of Sextus IV, a fresco in the Ospedale de Santo Spirito, Rome
A Carmelite in His Study
A Carmelite Working in his Study, picture from a M.S. of Le Miroir Historial in the British Museum.
After fumbling through the next prayers I traced my previous steps back to the bookroom, but was stopped by the abbot, Borso, which alarmed me greatly. ‘Guido...’ he said, and paused, ‘you have... received a... letter. A messenger brought it during the last service. It is from... a bishop in Arezzo, ...Theobald.’ Never had I received a letter in my life! I was trying to predict what would be said in the letter, what was about to happen, if I was supposed to do something. Borso was looking at me through his spectacles, a questioning look in his small hard eyes. His hand was pointing the letter my way; an obvious gesture for me to take it, though I hadn’t noticed. I quickly accepted it and broke the seal carefully. I observed Borso, with an almost angry expression on his face, watch me keenly. Even the abbot disliked my ways. I silently sighed and moved my attention back to the parchment. It read:
‘Dear Guido, I, Bishop Theobald, am inviting you to travel to Arezzo and become a music teacher at a future church. I have thought very well about this matter, and have decided you would be the perfect person for this. My reasoning for this: you have advanced the world’s musical knowledge a long way in your time at Pomposa and I would like you to further extend and educate people of your methods. ........’ It went on, persuasively advising me to go to Arezzo and informing me of my apparently ‘marvellous musical ability’. Not a soul on this earth had ever thought this way, I was sure of it, so all of the writing came as a pleasant yet large surprise.
Story: Ch3
Drawing of the Interior of the Library of Sextus IV, a fresco in the Ospedale de Santo Spirito, Rome
A Carmelite Working in his Study, picture from a M.S. of Le Miroir Historial in the British Museum.
After fumbling through the next prayers I traced my previous steps back to the bookroom, but was stopped by the abbot, Borso, which alarmed me greatly. ‘Guido...’ he said, and paused, ‘you have... received a... letter. A messenger brought it during the last service. It is from... a bishop in Arezzo, ...Theobald.’ Never had I received a letter in my life! I was trying to predict what would be said in the letter, what was about to happen, if I was supposed to do something. Borso was looking at me through his spectacles, a questioning look in his small hard eyes. His hand was pointing the letter my way; an obvious gesture for me to take it, though I hadn’t noticed. I quickly accepted it and broke the seal carefully. I observed Borso, with an almost angry expression on his face, watch me keenly. Even the abbot disliked my ways. I silently sighed and moved my attention back to the parchment. It read:
‘Dear Guido,
I, Bishop Theobald, am inviting you to travel to Arezzo and become a music teacher at a future church. I have thought very well about this matter, and have decided you would be the perfect person for this. My reasoning for this: you have advanced the world’s musical knowledge a long way in your time at Pomposa and I would like you to further extend and educate people of your methods.
........’
It went on, persuasively advising me to go to Arezzo and informing me of my apparently ‘marvellous musical ability’. Not a soul on this earth had ever thought this way, I was sure of it, so all of the writing came as a pleasant yet large surprise.
Chapter 4